Santa Rita Road | Templeton, California [Off The Beaten Track Episode 7]

We drive the Power Wagon along Santa Rita Road near Templeton on California's Central Coast. This scenic 15-mile route moves through ranch land, orchards, and vineyards to wooded creekside hills. It is mostly very well-graded dirt, with a few miles of pavement at each end.
Interactive 3D map of this track and GPX download: four.wheel.travel/santa-rita-...
All tracks in this series: four.wheel.travel/off-the-bea...
This route sits between Highway 46 to the north and Highway 41 to the south, and follows approximately the same direction, running from close to the US 101 freeway in the east to the coastal area in the west. If we had to guess, we'd say this road was not paved because it is just too winding (compared to the above-mentioned roads), and it serves today mostly as access to the various ranches and residences dotted along its course.
At the west end, the road terminates where it joins Old Creek Road; making a left at the junction takes you to Whale Rock Reservoir and the coastal towns of Cayucos and Morro Bay a little further south.
Though steep and twisting in places, the road is very well-graded and there are no specific vehicle requirements for the route; that said, we would not recommend the route when conditions are wet due to the combination of steep drop-offs at various points coupled with tight turns.
One thing to be aware of for the general safety of everyone is that from our experience this road appears to be a popular route for cyclists. We encountered several cyclists along the way, and the steep, twisting, blind corners at various points mean extra caution should be exercised.
There is no camping anywhere along Santa Rita Road and it is important to note that county roads such as this often cross private property. While you may have a right to travel along the route, all "no trespassing" signs and other posted notices must be obeyed.
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▶ Chapters
0:00 Intro and map visualization
0:42 Beginning of Santa Rita Road at Templeton
1:32 Start of the unpaved section, driving uphill to the summit
4:18 Approaching the summit
4:50 At the summit
5:55 Descent toward the Cayucos end of the track
8:23 Final paved section and closing comments
The playlist for this series is here:
• Off The Beaten Track -...
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▶ 3WA for the points along the route:
Begins at Templeton: w3w.co/blob.hardens.greenest
Ends at Old Creek Road: w3w.co/perches.flipping.frust...
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#santaritaroad #templeton #offroadtrails #offthebeatentrack

[@CC_Marauder]

Exactly what I was looking to see. TFS from a resident in the very near vicinity.
As of today, 23.0116, a Monday, this was the locally reported news, "Mud and rocks also fell onto Santa Rita Road in the Templeton area. Workers cleared the road, but it remained closed to traffic over the weekend."
Maybe it's open again. But this trail is definitely on our spring drive agenda.

[@fourwheeltravel]

Thanks for watching and commenting! As is the case for many of the trails we've covered in our Off The Beaten Track series, this one would potentially be impassable when wet. I'm not surprised there is mud and rocks, you're basically driving just feet away from the creek at the northern side, with some steep drop-offs elsewhere. When it is dry, this is an easy and scenic drive. The most perilous aspect is the blind corners with, on one of our passes through there, plenty of cyclists heading toward you on the single track road!

[@CC_Marauder]

For the past year 04/'23-'24+, this is one of my/our favorite lazy back country drives.
Again, TFS.